Lions continue their commitment to the ‘No Child Without’ program

Students attending Morrisburg Public and St Mary’s/St Cecilia’s schools continue to have access to the No Child Without (NCW) program thanks to the sponsorship of the Morrisburg & District Lions Club in partnership with the Canadian MedicAlert Foundation.

The goal of No Child Without is to provide elementary students with MedicAlert bracelets or necklets, custom-engraved with the child’s medical information, member ID and the MedicAlert 24-hour Emergency Hotline number, free of charge.

The initiative focuses on children who suffer from childhood diabetes, asthma and allergies (like peanut allergies). It also protects children with other pre-existing medical conditions.

By calling the Hotline, school staff or health care providers have immediate access to vital information from the child’s electronic health record, including existing medical conditions.

This service is available to all children in our community, ages four – 14 with pre-existing medical conditions or allergies to ensure first responders have access to the student’s vital health information during a medical emergency.

The emergency numbers found on the back of the MedicAlert bracelets provide the elementary schools in Morrisburg with important information to assist a student in an emergency situation.

In addition, parents are immediately notified by MedicAlert when the Emergency Hotline receives a call about their child.

Parents of children who wear MedicAlert bracelets or necklets have peace of mind knowing they will be advised in the event their child has a medical emergency and furthermore the comfort that proper care was quickly provided.

Dart tournaments hosted by the Morrisburg & District Lions Clubs during February over the past three years have raised the funds for this initiative.

These tournaments have been organized and chaired by Lion Brian Erratt who joined the Morrisburg & District Lions Club over four years ago.

In addition to be instrumental in making the NCW program happen Lion Brian, together with Lion Keith Robinson, implemented the popular Docksyde Classic Car Cruise In on Monday evenings throughout the summer.

For more information about the NCW program, parents are encouraged to complete the forms provided by the school their child attends or to contact the appropriate school in Morrisburg.

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Morrisburg and Iroquois residents hooked in to the municipal water and sewer system are going to see a substantial increase in their water and sewer bills this fall.

Municipal officials have been warning that an increase is necessary to cover the operational cost of the municipality’s waterworks since budget time. Last week, staff presented council with the numbers showing just how big an increase is needed.

Staff told council that the monthly base water rate would have to jump to $30.26 from the current $21.99 to sufficiently fund current operating and capital requirements.

Council was not willing to commit to that big of an increase at this point, and opted for an alternative sufficient to meet the 2014 budget needs, which is a monthly base water rate of $27.52.

Once the water consumption charges, capital levy and sewer charges are factored in to the equation, the average Morrisburg water/sewer user will pay just over $96 a month and the average Iroquois user will pay just over $106 a month. Currently, Morrisburg users paying about $85 monthly and Iroquois users $94.

South Dundas chief administrative officer Steve McDonald explained that a huge decrease in water consumption has made it more and more difficult for the municipality to cover the operational costs of the water plant, which within the next few years will need a significant investment of funds as the plant’s costly Xenon filters are nearing the end of their expected lifespan. Meters are also reaching the end of their lifespan, and a replacement program with smart meters will be needed in the near future.

From 2007 to 2013 water consumption dropped by almost 22 per cent here in South Dundas. This trend is similar to that seen across the province, which has seen a 19 per cent decrease in consumption.

Declining water use is related to changes in plumbing codes, higher water rates prompting consumers to cut back, and changes in consumer attitudes which have brought more efficient appliances into their homes. (For example, a high efficiency clothes washing machine uses about 100 litres of water less per load than a traditional washer.) Formerly common practices like lawn watering and car washing have also been reduced.

Despite the fact that bringing water and sewer operations in house has saved South Dundas $65,000 in payroll costs from the previous contract, South Dundas is still needing to dip into water reserves to cover 2014 operational and capital costs.

Last year, almost $400,000 had to be drawn from the water reserve, and the treasury is estimating that almost $300,000 will need to be drawn from the reserve in 2014, depleting it to less than $50,000.

While the water reserve is being depleted, the sewer reserve remains healthy, at about $1 million between the Morrisburg ($700,000) and Iroquois ($300,000) reserves.

Council and staff, at this point, agreed that those sewer reserves should not be touched until the new Iroquois waste water treatment plant has been operating at least a year.

From experience they know that the cost of operating a new secondary treatment plant, especially the hydro cost, is much higher than the former primary treatment plant.

“There’s no magic. It’s user pay, and it’s got to be dealt with,” said South Dundas deputy mayor Jim Locke.

“For this year we have to increase it to what we need, and then do it again next year,” said councillor Jim Graham.

“We’re going to have to do annual increases. We’re not meeting what’s needed in the budget,” said councillor Evonne Delegarde. “We need to increase the rates every year until we are caught up, so we don’t fall further and further behind.”

“We have to have the money to run the plant,” said councillor Archie Mellan. “We are in a predicament because we are trying to play catch up.”

“We can’t let it go,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds. “That would not be fair to the next council. We can’t ignore this.”

The bylaw to approve the rate increase will go to council in September, and staff are expecting to implement the change October 1, 2014.

The approximately 80 Williamsburg library supporters who packed the Chesterville library March 21, will get another chance to show their support for the small town library.

The SD&G library board, which decided late last year that the Williamsburg and Morrisburg branches of the SD&G library will be consolidated at the new Morrisburg location, later this year, met in Chesterville last week. There, Lisa Vreman, one of many strong supporters of keeping the Williamsburg branch open, in Williamsburg, was allowed to make a presentation.

“One of the most frustrating things about this announcement is that there was no discussion or consultation with the Williamsburg community about this closure,” Vreman told the board.

After her presentation, which outlined the importance of the branch to the small community, which strongly supports the branch, board chairman Bill McGimpsey announced that the board will hold a public information meeting, including a question and answer session, in Williamsburg in late April or early May.

“We are not hiding anything. This is about the survival of the library system. No one at this table wants to do a disservice to the community. Libraries simply aren’t what they were,” said McGimpsey.

At the upcoming meeting he plans to release details about some alternatives they are working on to maintain some level of service within the community.

“I was really pleased with the turnout at the meeting,” said Vreman after the meeting. “I think the library board heard a lot about our Williamsburg library that they didn’t know before.”

At the meeting, board member Chris McDonell said that he is not in favour of closing the Williamsburg branch. “This board is here to promote the library, not to close it,” said McDonell.

When someone in the audience asked if there was any possibility that the branch could remain open until the building that houses the library is no longer available, McGimpsey re-iterated that the plan is to move in to the new location in Morrisburg as soon as it is ready.

Get ready to take in some great toe-tapping, hand-clapping good times at Iroquois Point this weekend. The annual Bluegrass Festival, sponsored by the Galop Canal Committee, is running June 18-21 at 6020 Carman Road. This year, the Festival is even bigger and better.

Four days of music provided by outstanding live bands, will thrill dedicated bluegrass fans, and win new fans to the genre. And this year, there’s a special session, Friday, June 19, 2 to 5 p.m. only, of country music, featuring Ralph and Brenda Country.

Following the Festival opening ceremonies at 5:45 p.m., held at the Lions Bandshell, audiences can just sit back and enjoy some outstanding bluegrass for the rest of the weekend.

“We already have reservations for 200 campers right on the site,” said Geraldine Fitzsimmons, manager of the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce. “The chair of the Galop Canal Bluegrass Festival, Joey Vankoppen, and his team of dedicated volunteers, have been working a lot of hard hours to make this Festival a runaway success. And we have a great musical line-up for audiences, due in large measure to the efforts of Melissa Sherman, who helped put the band line-up together. And the word is definitely out there, since our advance sales are really good this year. I know that people simply love this South Dundas area.”

The bands featured this year are Grassy Fiddle Time, County Road 5, Maple Hill, County Road 44, Hard Ryde, Monroe Sisters, Barrel Boys, Canucky Bluegrass Boys, Georgian Blue and the Schotts.

Not only will people be able to enjoy the best of Bluegrass performances, the Festival also offers free workshops to those interested in learning more about playing traditional bluegrass. On Saturday, June 20, members of the band, Hard Ryde, will be offering an 11 a.m. mandolin workshop, a 12 noon banjo workshop and a 1 p.m. guitar workshop. All participants need is an interest and an instrument. All ages are welcome from novices to experienced players.

And there will be plenty of good eating all weekend to go along with the fun and music. The Iroquois Legion is offering a delicious breakfast on Saturday morning: tickets will also be on sale (reserve in advance with Barb Rabideau at 613-543-3114) for a Legion steak supper Saturday night. Halees at the Point will also be open for the entire Festival. Watch for interesting vendors on site as well.

In between acts, on Saturday, visitors to the Festival can also enjoy viewing some special cars, antique, muscle and modern, right on site with the members of the Golden Gears Car Club. “This is simply going to add to the interest and to the excitement of the weekend,” said Fitzsimmons.

Events like the Bluegrass Festival bring many visitors to the South Dundas area, helping to boost the local economy. “We are certainly very grateful for the sponsorship we have received,” Gerri Fitzsimmons said, “but since the Festival impacts the entire municipality, we hope to work more closely with the municipality in the future. Funds raised will go back into developing the Bluegrass Festival into one of the biggest festivals of its type in Canada.”

Passes for part or all of the weekend events, and additional information, are available by contacting galopcanalbluegrassfestival@gmail.com. There’s something for everyone at the Iroquois Point Bluegrass Festival June 18-21: come out and enjoy four great days.